Crank connection for radial motors



Feb. 20, 1934. J NEWMANN 1,948,475

CRANK CONNECTION FOR RADIAL MOTORS Original Filed Sept. 27. 1929 Q\gawk/M7 ATTORNEY Patented F eb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEHensley, receiver,

Refiled for abandoned application 395,507, September 27, 1929. This July17, 1931. Serial 14 Claims.

The present case is a refile of applicants abandoned application SerialNo. 395,507, filed September 27, 1929.

My invention relates to radial motors and while it is especially adaptedfor motors to be used in aeroplanes, nevertheless it is also adapted tobe used in connection with other types of motors. In my Patent No.1,823,46 and my co-pending application Serial No. 557,427 I showed anddescribed radial motors and the general object of the present inventionis somewhat similar to those cases, but there are advantages in thepresent construction over those of said cases. The present inventionrelates to that type of radial motor wherein an annular connecting orbearing member is integral with or connected to a master connecting rod,and wherein a plurality of connecting rods are pivotally connected withthe annular member, whereby a number of motor cylinders may be arrangedaround a common axis and have their several piston rods operating on acommon crank.

One object of the present invention is to eliminate screws, bolts andvarious threaded members in the crank connection and as a result anumber of objects are accomplished. Primarily, the elimination ofthreaded members avoids the possibility of any of the parts becomingloose or disassembled during the operation of the motor, so that thedevice is highly efficient from the standpoint of safety.

Secondly, the bearing member referred to, by reason of the eliminationof threaded members interposed between the several knuckle pins, as usedin previous constructions, makes it possible to provide a strongerbearing member and to reduce its size and its weight.

The latter is an important factor when it is considered that the crankin a motor of this 4 typemay make as high as 2060 or more revolutionsper minute. Another advantage of the present construction is that thenumber of parts in the device is reduced to the minimum. Anotheradvantage is that the cost of manufacture oi .the device is considerablyless than in devices now in commercial use and the device may be madewtihout the necessity of providing expensive tools and special machinesand dies. Most or all 01' the operations in the manufacture of thedevice maybe performed on an ordinary lathe. Another object of myinvention is to provide a ring which is locked in a suitable groove andheld by its expansion against the wall of the groove and which ringserves to hold the several knuckle pins on which the articulatedconnecting New York,

Serial No. application No. 551,428

rods are pivoted in assembled relation upon the bearing member. In mysaid copending application Serial No. 557,427 I showed a ring forlocking the several knuckle pins against accidental displacement but inthat case the locking ring is shown engaging the several knuckle pins inan are adjacent the axis of the bearing member, whereas in the presentcase the locking ring is disposed in a groove formed in a projectingflange of the bearing member to engage the knuckle pins for locking themin place, the engagement with the knuckle pins being near their outeredges or at a greater distance from the axis of the hearing member thanin my said copending application.

In the present construction the bearing member is strengthened by theadditional flange which forms the socket for the locking ring, so thatin a given size device the present construction of bearing member isvery strong.

One important advantage of having a large ring engaging the outerportions of the knuckle pins is that the ring of larger diameter has agreater spring capacity and therefore can be removed and replaced anumber of times and still 30 retain suificient resiliency to fit snuglyin the retaining groove of the bearing member. In the fullest embodimentof my invention I employ a locking ring for each end of the knuckle pinsso that the knuckle pins cannot move longitudinally 5 from their correctposition within the bearing member in either direction.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the construction of theknuckle pins by eliminating end flanges so that they are reduced to the9 simple form of a rod or tube with a slight groove or notch out in oneend thereof. These and other advantages which are accomplished in thepresent construction will be set forth more in detail in the followingdescription of my invention. 95

In the drawing forming part of this applica tion,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a crank connection for a radial motorembodying my invention, in which view only one of the articulatedconnecting rods is shown,

Figure 2 is an end view of the bearing member, master connecting rod andone of the articulated connecting rods,

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 105 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the knuckle pins, and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of one of the looking rings.

In the drawing I have shown the principal parts of a crank connectionfor radial motors and I have illustrated the same in connection with ashaft 1 having a crank throw similar in construction to those shown inmy said copending applications.

It is preferable to use the present invention in connection with a crankconstruction similar to those disclosed in said cases, although thepresent invention is not limited to use with a particular type of crankconstruction. The present invention relates more particularly to theconnecting rods, the annular bearing member connected with the masterrod and to the means for securing the knuckle pins in assembled relationupon the bearing member. The shaft 1 in the drawing is provided with onearm 2 forming part of the crank throw and this is provided with a wristpin 3 to which is detachably secured at one end another crank arm 4which is integral with the shaft section 5 so that the shaft members 1,5, together with the crank arms and the wrist pin form a crank throwwith which the annular bearing member is associated.

In the drawing the member 6 forms what is called the master connectingrod which is the rod with which the annular bearing member is eitherrigidly connected or made integral, preferably the latter. This masterrod is shown as formed integral with the annular bearing member 7 whichconsists of the two circular bearing members or plates 8, 9 spacedlaterally from each other to provide a pocket 10 for the reception ofthe heads of the articulated connecting rods. The inner hub orcylindrical portion 11 is an integral part of this bearing member and itis centrally located in relation the members 8. 9 and it is adapted tofit over the wrist pin 3 of the crank throw.

Any form of bearing may be used where this hub flts the Wrist pin, butby way of example I have shown a true bearing 12 of bearing metal liningthe inner bore 13 of the member 11 to form the bearing.

I will describe the construction as shown in the drawing, in which alocking ring is used at each end of the knuckle pins although notintending to limit the invention to the use of both locking rings exceptinsofar as both are included in certain of the claims herein. There isprojecting from the member 8 the flange l4 and from the parallel andopposite member 9 there is a flange 15 also projecting laterally orparallel with the axis of the wrist pin. Each of these flanges orprojections is provided with an annular recess or groove, the groove inthe flange 14 being indicated by the numeral 16 and the groove in theflange 15 being indicated by the numeral 17, and preferably thesegrooves are similar to each other. In the walls 8, 9 and between the hubmember 11 and the flanges 14, 15 the bearing member isprovided withbores 18 to receive longitudinally therein by close, sliding fit, theseveral knuckle pins 19, there being one such knuckle pin for eacharticulated connecting rod.

In the example shown in the drawing there are eight such knuckle pinsarranged equal distances apart and equally spaced from the axis of themaster connecting rod, making a total of nine connecting rods countingthe master rod and the articulated rods. In Figure 4 I have shown one ofthe knuckle pins detached. It consists of a cylindrical body 19preferably made hollow by having a central bore 20 therein forlightness. and at one end I have shown an arcuate slot or notch 21extending inwardly from the edge of the knuckle pin and adapted forlocking purposes, as will be hereinafter set forth.

In Figure 5 I have shown one of the locking rings of which there are twoin the fullest embodiment of my invention, both of which may be alike.It consists of an annular member 22 having a split or opening 23'topermit the ring to be compressed for insertion into the locking grooveand one of the inner edges of the ring is rounded, as shown at 24 tofacilitate the snapping of the ring into its groove.

As shown in Figure 3 one of these locking rings is inserted into thegroove 16 in the flange l4 and this one may be inserted before theknuckle pins have been placed in the bores 18 if desired. The thicknessor depth of this locking ring is such that when its outer edge is seatedin the groove 16 its inner edge or perimeter projects inwardly, as shownat 25 so that its diameter is less than the diameter of a circle passingthrough the outer portions of the several knuckle pin bores 18. Thering, therefore, projects inwardly from the groove to form a shoulder orabutment for the ends of all of the knuckle pins, as shown in Figure 3,so that the ring prevents the knuckle pins from moving lengthwise to theleft in this view. The other locking ring 26 is adapted to seat in thegroove 17 of the flange 15 and it is also of sufficient depth so thatthe inner side or perimeter of this ring extends inwardly of thediameter of a circle passing through the outer portions of the severalknuckle pins.

The portion of the ring 22 which projects inwardly is adapted to engageor lie in the arcuate grooves or notches 21 of the several knuckle pinswhen they are in assembled position, so that the shoulder 27 of eachknuckle pin abuts against one side of this locking ring and the knucklepins are, therefore, prevented from moving lengthwise to the left inFigure 3. The ring 26 overlaps a portion of the rim of each knuckle pinat the right hand end in Figure 3, so that these pins cannot shift tothe right.

In this manner the knuckle pins are held from; shifting lengthwise ineither direction and they are also prevented from revolving within theirbores 18 by reason of the surface 21 of each of the notches of theknuckle pins engaging the inner surface or perimeter of the locking ring22, no other means being required to prevent the turning of the knucklepins within the bearing member.

One method of assembling the deviceis to slide the master connecting rodand bearing member along the wrist pin, the latter passing through thebore of the hub 11 until the end of the hub 11 rests against the cheekof the crank arm 2, it being understood that this operation is performedbefore the crank arm 4 is attached to the projecting end of the wristpin. The crank arm 4 may now be assembled on the projecting end of thewrist pin so that one of its cheeks lies close to or against one end ofthe hub 11.

The locking ring 22 may now be applied to the groove 16 by compressingit sufficiently to allow it to be passed over the flange 14 until itregisters with the groove 16, whereupon it will spring outwardJy andseat snugly into this groove, due to the resiliency of the ring. Theseveral knuckle pins may now be assembled by inserting them into thebores 18 of the bearing member at the same time passing through theheads 28 of the articulated connecting rods 29, which heads lie in thespace 10 between the plates 8, 9. When the knuckle pins are thusinserted into the bores 18 they are pressed inwardly until the lockingring 22 lies in the notch 21 of each of the knuckle pins so that thering will prevent longitudinal movement of the knuckle pins in onedirection and prevent the rings from turning Within their respectivebores 18.

The second locking ring 26 may now be applied by compressing it topermit it to be pressed over the flange 15 and when it registers withthe groove 17 it will expand under its own resiliency and seat tightlyin this groove. The inwardly projecting portion of this ring, that is,the portion which projects inwardly from the groove 17 overlies aportion of the end of each knuckle pin so that it looks all of theknuckle pins against longitudinal movement in one direction. When theassembly has been completed, the rings serve to lock all of the knucklepins against longitudinal movement in either direction and the ring 22also serves to prevent the knuckle pins from revolving in their bores18. The assembly of the device is very simple and may be quicklyperformed.

The knuckle pins are all securely locked in place and cannot bedislodged by any vibration of the motor so that the device is safer thanthose heretofore used. As no holes have to be drilled between the bores18 in the plates 8, 9, the construction is much stronger than inprevious devices and the bearing member may be made smaller, lighter andmore compact for a given type of motor.

The elimination of threaded members in the crank assembly not onlyavoids the danger of parts becoming disassembled in operation but itreduces the construction to the simplest form and to the minimum ofparts. Where the knuckle pins are held at opposite ends by lockingrings, and the knuckle pins are provided with notches 21 to co-operatewith one of the rings to prevent them from revolving with relation tothe bearing member, it is unnecessary to form flanges on the ends of theknuckle pins and this simplifies their construction and cheapens thecost of manufacture.

Any or all of the knuckle pins may be removed and replaced by simplyremoving the locking ring 26. For this purpose any suitable instrumentsuch as a screw driver or pointed tool may be inserted into the notch 30of the flange 15 to pry inwardly one end of the locking ring in order topermit the end to be grasped or forced by a tool whereupon the ring maybe sprung out of the groove 17. When the ring has been removed any oneor all of the knuckle pins may be slid out of their bores 18 by movingthem to the right in Figure 3.

Other knuckle pins to replace those worn and removed may be insertedinto the bores 18 and after replacement of the knuckle pins the lockingring 26 may be again returned to the groove 17 to lock the severalknuckle pins in place. Both 1 locking rings are provided with roundededges 24 at one side to facilitate the springing of the rings over theflanges 14, 15 and into their respective grooves. These flanges 14, 15which are provided to receive and hold the locking rings increase thestrength of the bearing member.

The locking rings in the present construction are of larger diameterthan the locking rings of my said co-pending application Serial No.551,427 for a given type of motor, and therefore they have a greatercapacity for being sprung or deformed to permit them to be inserted intotheir grooves than where the smaller rings are employed. The grooves 16,17 do not have to be deeper than the grooves of my said co-pendingapplication but the capacity for bending of the locking rings or theability to be sprung into and out of their locking grooves withoutchanging the normal diameter of the rings is greater in the presentcase, owing to the fact that the locking rings are of larger diameter.

From the above it will be apparent that I have provided a simple,compact and dependable crank connection for radial motors which is oflight construction and has fewer parts than the devices heretofore used,and it will also be apparent that I have eliminated threaded members inthe crank connection and in so doing I have eliminated the dangerincident to the use of threaded members.

Having described my invention, what I claim 15:

1. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw, a wrist pin thereon, a bearing member journaled on saidwrist pin, a plurality of knuckle pins mounted in said bearing member,and connecting rods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing memberhaving a groove, 2. split locking ring engaging in said groove and heldbetween the shoulders of the groove, said ring being disposed around theouter portions of said knuckle pins and arranged to prevent longitudinalmovement of said knuckle pins in one direction, and means for preventinglongitudinal movement of said knuckle pins in the other direction.

2. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, a plurality of knuckle pins mounted in said bearingmember, connecting rods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearingmember having grooves, split locking rings engaging in said grooves andheld therein by the expansive action of said rings, said rings beingdisposed adjacent opposite ends of said knuckle pins around the outerportions of said pins, to prevent longitudinal movement of said knucklepins in either direction.

3. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a Wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, said bearing member having bores, a plurality ofknuckle pins mounted in said bores in said bearing member, connectingrods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member having a groovedisposed outside of and around the several knuckle pin bores, a splitlooking ring engaging in said groove and disposed between the shculdersthereof, the ring projecting inwardly of the outer portions of the boresin which said knuckle pins are mounted to engage the ends of saidknuckle pins to prevent longitudinal movement thereof in one direction,and means to prevent longitudinal movement of said knuckle pins in theother direction.

4. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon having a wrist pin, a bearing member journaled onsaid wrist pin, said bearing member having lateral bores circularlydisposed therein, knuckle pins mounted in said bores, connecting rodspivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member having groovesadjacent opposite ends of the knuckle pins and circularly disposedbeyond the outer edges of said knuckle pin bores, a split looking ringheld in each groove by the expansive action of said ring, said ringsprojecting inwardly to engage opposite ends of said knuckle pins toprevent longitudinal movement thereof in either direction.

5. In a crank construction for motors, .the

. having combination of a shaft, a crank throw thereon, including awrist pin, a bearing member journaled on said wrist pin, said bearingmember having lateral bores, knuckle pins mounted in said bores,connecting rods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member havinggrooves, split locking rings detachably engaging in said grooves andheld therein by the expansive action of said rings, said rings beingdisposed adjacent opposite ends of said knuckle pins and around theouter portions thereof, said locking rings being arranged to preventlongitudinal movement of said knuckle pins in either direction.

6. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, said bearing member having lateral bores, a pluralityof knuckle pins mounted in said bores in said bearing member, connectingrods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member having groovesdisposed outside of and around said several knuckle pin bores, splitlocking rings detachably engaging in said grooves and held therein bythe expansive action of said rings, said rings projecting inwardly ofthe outer portions of said bores in which said knuckle pins are mountedto engage the ends of said knuckle pins and prevent longitudinalmovement thereof.

'7. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, said bearing member lateral bores, a plurality ofknuckle pins mounted in said bores in said bearing member, connectingrods pivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member having a groove,a split locking ring engaging in said groove and held therein by theexpansive action of said ring, said ring being disposed around the outerportions of said knuckle pins and engaging the ends of said pins toprevent longitudinal movement thereof, in one direction, and means forpreventing longitudinal movement of said pins in the other direction.

8. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin and having lateral bores, a plurality of knuckle pinsmounted in said bores, connecting rods pivoted on said knuckle pins,said bearing member having an annular flange projecting laterallytherefrom, said flange having an annular groove on its inner side, asplit locking ring held in said groove by the expansive action of saidring, said ring being disposed around the outer portions of said knucklepins and engaging said knuckle pins to prevent longitudinal movementthereof in one direction, and means for preventing longitudinal movementof said knuckle pins in the other direction.

9. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, said bearing member comprising a hub portion andspaced parallel annular walls provided with lateral bores, knuckle pinsmounted in said lateral bores, connecting rods pivoted on said knucklepins between said parallel walls of the bearing member, said bearingmember having flanges projecting in opposite directions from the sidesof said parallel walls, said flanges provided with annular groovesaround the interior of said flanges, split locking rings detachably heldin said grooves by the expansion action of said rings, said ringsengaging the ends of the several knuckle pins for the purpose ofpreventing longitudinal movement of said pins.

10. In a crank construction for motors the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin, said bearing member having lateral bores, knucklepins having unobstructed cylindrical outer surfaces and mounted in saidlateral bores, connecting rods pivoted on said knuckle pins, saidbearing member having flanges projecting in opposite directions and saidflanges provided with annular grooves around the interior thereof andsplit locking rings detachably engaging in said grooves and engagingopposite ends of said knuckle pins for the purpose of preventinglongitudinal movement thereof.

11. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin and having lateral bores, knuckle pins mounted in saidbores and having notches adjacent the ends thereof, connecting rodspivoted on said knuckle pins, said bearing member having a groove, alocking ring detachably engaging in said groove and disposed around theouter portions of said knuckle pins and projecting into the notches ofsaid knuckle pins to prevent longitudinal movement thereof in onedirection and to prevent said pins from rotating in said bores, andmeans for preventing longitudinal movement of said knuckle pins in theother direction.

12. In a crank construction for motors, the combination of a shaft, acrank throw thereon, including a wrist pin, a bearing member journaledon said wrist pin and having lateral bores, knuckle pins mounted in saidbores and having notches in the ends thereof, connecting rods pivoted onsaid knuckle pins, said bearing member having annular grooves adjacentopposite ends of said knuckle pins and a locking ring detachablyengaging in each of said grooves, one of said rings engaging in thenotches of said knuckle pins and the other of said rings abuttingagainst the opposite ends of said knuckle pins.

13. In a connecting rod assembly for radial engines, a master rod hubhaving circularly ar-.

ranged pin bores therethrough, said hub having a circular recess at oneend intersecting the pin bores, a ring seated in the circular recess inthe hub end, said ring underlying the hub end intermediate the pinbores, connecting rod knuckle pins in the bores, said pins having arecessed end complementary to the intersecting portions of the ring, andretaining means for the end of the pins opposite the ring.

14. In a connecting rod assembly, a master rod hub having a main boreand circularly arranged pin bores therethrough, said hub havingacircular recess in one end adjacent the main bore and intersecting aportion of the pin bores, the outer portion of the recess intermediatethe pin bores being undercut, a ring in the recess having portionsextending into the undercut portion thereof, means securing the ring inthe recess, connecting rod pins in the pin bores having one end engagingthe ring to prevent rotation and axial displacement thereof relative tothe hub, and retaining means for the other ends of the pins. JOHNNEWMANN.

